An American Pickle

Starring: Seth Rogen, Sarah Snook, Jorma Taccone

Director: Brandon Trost

Based on the novel "Sell Out" by Simon Rich.

In 1919, Herschel Greenbaum (Seth Rogen) and his wife Sarah (Sarah Snook) decide to leave their home land of Schlupsk to escape the Russians and immigrate to America to chase the American Dream. Herschel gets a job at a pickle factory and he and Sarah start a family together. One day while working at the factory, Herschel falls into a vat of pickles and wakes up 100 years later in present day Brooklyn, perfectly preserved by the brine. To help his transition into modern society, his only living relative and great grandson Ben Greenbaum (also Seth Rogen) has been found. While Herschel is happy at first to have the familial connection, he soon discovers a last name is all he and Ben have in common. Ben, who is an app developer, has turned his back on religion and has even let the family burial plot be overrun by nature and a billboard for a Vodka company. These differences cause a falling out and in an effort to bring honor back to the Greenbaum name, Herschel begins to make and sell pickles and much to Ben's chagrin, finds himself becoming a national sensation. The men must eventually put aside their differences and discover the true meaning of family.

I quite enjoyed this. It embraces a truly odd premise and is anchored by a stellar performance by Rogen in a dual role.

One thing that I really appreciated was that there were some good moments of genuine emotion woven in between the comedy. Especially early in the film as Herschel and Ben bond over the family photo album and Herschel learns what has happened to the Greenbaum family over the 100 years Herschel missed. As well done as it is, Rogen's performance elevates it to have more heft.

Much of the humor comes from Herschel's fish out of water scenario, whether it's his fascination with modern technology (like a Soda Stream) or his outdated and now unPC thoughts. At first it seemed ridiculous that he would become a celebrity despite these blatantly offensive feelings, but then I remembered what our current situation is and how we got here and it made perfect sense. It even gives the movie a chance to poke fun at our society in that regard.

As I said, Rogen's performance here is the highlight. We've always underestimated his talent and with this I feel like we can't anymore. Playing both roles gives him an opportunity to show off his range and gives him a chance to play two strikingly different roles. Herschel still has a likability despite his belief system and Ben is given a chance to re-examine his beliefs and grow.

As much as I did enjoy this movie, I do think their ultimate decision to work together in the end was too obvious and that they probably would have come up with it much earlier than they did.

I still had fun with this movie, thanks in large part to Rogen.

Grade: B+

An American Pickle is available on HBOMax